Kaitlyn Knoche (women's cross country) and Alec Ponder (football) were selected by the St. Ambrose Sports Information staff as the October Fighting Bees Athletes of the Month.

The Fighting Bees women's soccer team was named October's Team of the Month after posting a strong 6-0-2 record.

Knoche, a junior on the women's cross country team, started off the month of October with an overall ninth-place finish at the Seminole Valley Stampede, which helped the Bees place third as a team. On Oct. 11, she led St. Ambrose with a first-place team finish while taking the first place overall spot with a 5k time of 18:30, a personal record. As a team, the Bees broke the school's record with a total time of 2:14:21. That performance at Indian Hills earned her the CCAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week accolade. The final race of the month was the Blazing Tiger Invite, where Knoche broke the school 6k record, which she had previously set, with a time of 22:06.04. That time earned her seventh place overall in the race.

Ponder, a redshirt-sophomore quarterback, dominated on the field in October. He had 56 completions in 91 attempts, with only a single interception. Ponder collected nine touchdowns for the month, tallying five against Graceland on homecoming and two against both Missouri Valley on Oct. 4 and Culver-Stockton on Oct. 25. He was named Heart of America Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30 for his performance against Graceland. He threw for 302 yards and completed 21-of-35 passes.

The women's soccer team capped off an unbeaten October with a 6-0-2 record, outscoring opponents 17-3 and posting five shutouts in eight matches. The Bees dominated possession and tempo, averaging nearly 27 shots per game while holding opponents to fewer than five. Offensively, Mia Hefner led the charge with four goals and three assists, followed closely by Olivia Infante's four goals and two game-winners, while Sophia Roszkowski and Jenna Horst added key contributions in the attack. Anchored by goalkeeper Jonna Tucker's 0.43 goals-against average and .813 save percentage, the defense remained rock solid, limiting opponents to just 16 shots on goal all month.

Each month, the St. Ambrose Sports Information Department selects a Male and Female Athlete of the Month based on their exceptional accomplishments. A Team of the Month is also chosen to recognize collective achievement across all Fighting Bees programs.